Posts tagged ‘Uncategorized’
Recycling 101
We are told recycling is important and necessary to sustain our planet’s resources and environment. This is undoubtedly true, but what are some strategies TO recycle? What CAN’T be recycled? Where do all the materials we recycle GO anyways? After some research on the National Recycling Coalition website (www.nrc-recycle.org/dos.aspx), here is some basic information and a few tips to improve your recycling efficiency!
- CLEANLINESS COUNTS: Rinsing cans and keeping boxes out of the weather makes them easier to process, thus keeping costs down.
- PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT GOES IN YOUR BIN: Be an accurate recycle-er! Cereal boxes are good but not greasy pizza boxes; recycle your milk jugs but take off the caps. Check your bin’s lids and follow instructions!
- GOOD BETS: Steel cans, aluminum, newspapers, magazines, junk mail, plastics bottles, glass bottles and jars, ad any kind of clean, dry cardboard can all be recycled (sometimes for money!) at your local recycling center.
- PROBABLY NOT: Styrofoam, light bulbs, food-soiled paper, wax paper, and ceramics are probably not recyclable. Be aware and try to use less of these materials.
- DO RECYCLE ELECTRONICS: Recycle your old computers and cell phones. Check out Dell, Stables, and Waste Management Recycle America Web sites for information on how can recycle these items.
- HAZARDOUS WASTES HAVE THEIR PLACE: Household hazardous wastes, like paint cans, motor oil, antifreeze, car batteries, pesticide, pool chemicals, etc., usually need to be disposed of separately. Again, check your community resources and guidelines.
Sometimes recyclable products are recycled into exactly what you’d expect. Old newspapers are recycled into new newspapers, and old glass bottles are recycled into new glass bottles. However, there are thousands of different products created out of recycled materials! Here are just a few.
GLASS BEVERAGE CONTAINERS are recycled into materials for roads, marbles, decorative tiles, surfboards, and jewelry.
FIVE PLASTIC SODA BOTTLES yield enough fiber for one extra-large T-shirt, one square foot of carpet, or enough fiber to fill one ski jacket.
PLASTIC BOTTLES are also recycled into carpet, park benches, picnic tables, park benches, pipes, flowerpots, and sleeping bags.
MILK JUGS are recycled into sandbox toys, tea sets, and cookware.
STEEL AND ALUMINUM CANS are recycled into new cars, bikes, appliances, cook ware, lawn chairs, window frames, toys, fire hydrants, and tools.
NEWSPAPER is recycled into festive wrapping paper, construction paper, tissues, game boards, animal bedding, puzzles, and telephone books.
WORN-OUT SNEAKERS are recycled into material used in basketball courts, tennis courts, athletic feilds, running tracks, and playgrounds.
TIRES are recycled into shoes, purses, raincoats, umbrellas, farm tools, and hats.
FLIP-FLOPS are recycled into doormats, jewelry, toys, and furniture.
MIXED PAPER is recycled into tissues, napkins, paper towels, school supplies (folders, index cards, and notebooks, and even cat litter.
CARDBOARD is recycled into brown paper lunch bags, cereal boxes, and soap boxes.
Once you start recycling and get into the habit, it becomes second nature. And you will be blown away by how little you actually throw away! Get Chipper and start recycling today!
21st Century Learning and Chipper
The Internet has revolutionized how we obtain knowledge and educate our kids. Immersed in the new tech world that is increasingly diverse, globalized, and complex, media-saturated. According to Dr. Douglas Kellner at UCLA this technological revolution will have a greater impact on society than the transition from an oral to a print culture (Kellner, Douglas; New Media and New Literacies: Reconstructing Education for the New Millennium).
Today’s kindergarteners will be retiring in the year 2067! We have no idea of what the world will look in five years, much less 60 years, yet we are charged with preparing our students for life in that world. That is what we aim for with our Let’s Go Chipper Educational Series for kids in 6th grade and under, with new media like apps and music as well as old media, such as books and crafts. Students are facing many emerging issues such as global warming, famine, poverty, health issues, a global population explosion and other environmental and social issues. These issues lead to a need for students to be able to communicate, function and create change personally, socially, economically and politically on local, national and global levels.
Even kindergarten children can make a difference in the world by participating in real-life, real-world service learning projects. You’re never too young, or too old, to make your voice heard and create change that makes the world a better place! Chipper’s goal is to make sure your future generations will appreciate nature and know how to take care of our precious planet.
Park Ranger Profile: Lori Ann Hopkins from Hodges Garden State Park, LA
Fun in the gardens! Click here to check out Hodges Garden's Facebook page.
Lori Ann Hopkins is an Interpretive Park Ranger there and has been in service there now for a bout a year. As one of the lucky rangers who get to spend most of their days in this haven of nature, she answered a few questions for us about what it’s like to work at this park and why it’s so important to be a park ranger:
3) What’s a fun fact about your park you like to share with visitors?
4) What advice would you give to kids and their parents visiting your park?
5) What is the most important thing about parks in your opinion?
Trickling streams flow throughout the gardens bringing a sense of peace to the spirit
Park Ranger Profile: William C. Davis from Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, SD
"Missouri pincushion"(coryphantha), in bloom from May to June
With National Park Week coming up next month, now is a great time to start checking out some parks and National Monuments near you! Our Chipper friends over in South Dakota or near bouts should visit the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument with the kids this year to learn all about one of the most complete Miocene mammal sites in the world.
Discovering what the Lakota Sioux had already found, scientists in the 1890′s called this area “Agate,” a landscape that reflects many players – from early animals roaming the valleys and hills, to tribal nations calling the High Plains home, to explorers passing through or settling in the American West. Bill Davis, who has been a Park Ranger at the Agate Fossil Beds for two years now, answers some of our questions tells us more about this fascinating monument and what it’s like to work with artifacts of Native American history and fossils that are millions of years old! (http://www.nps.gov/agfo/index.htm).
Volunteers help support the parks in many ways. This retired college professor is giving an educational program for area students. Click this photo to learn more about how you can volunteer at Agate Fossil Beds National Park today!
1) What inspired you to become a park ranger?
I found a summer job working at a National Park while attending college. I was retraining after being laid off after 28 years with a corporation. I decided that I wished to pursue a career with the Park Service because the work MATTERS.
2) What is the best part about being a ranger? Describe a day on the job.
Knowing you are helping people appreciate their National Parks and Heritage is definitely the best part about being a ranger. What the job is like really depends on the job one is assigned that day. It always includes becoming aware of the resources the park manages, making them available to the public, while maintaining them for future generations.
3) What’s a fun fact about your park you like to share with visitors?
The fact that John ‘Portugee’ Phillips who traveled over 200 miles in blizzard conditions to deliver news of Chief Red Cloud’s victory at Ft. Phil Kearney, (The Fetterman Massacre), also led Dr. Grahm to Agate Springs to create a Cattle Ranch, which would ultimately become the Home of James Cook, who befriended Red Cloud and hosted him on several visits to the ranch.
4) What advice would you give to kids and their parents visiting your park?
Take time to explore and handle the interactive exhibits. Ask questions, discover the unique features of the park. There are lots of things to see.
5) What is the most important thing about parks in your opinion?
That they offer an opportunity to interact with nature, explore our past, discover where we have been and what we can accomplish, while preserving these locations and their resources for future generations.
National Parks and Monuments protect many different historic, cultural and scenic areas all over the country and many of these have Junior Ranger programs. There is also a Junior Ranger website where you can become a WebRanger and earn the official WebRanger patch. Go to http://www.nps.gov/webrangers and start having fun. Set up your ranger station and you'll be ready to explore.
The Agate Fossil Beds National Monument is a place you can learn the story about the Earth’s much untold past life, as well as the more recent history of the people who first lived in the area. There are also a huge array of beautiful wildflowers and adorable wildlife in the area that would make for a great photo album of you and the family! South Dakota has six of our Nation’s National Parks, including the famous Mount Rushmore Monument.
Consider volunteering at your local park for Earth Day and support our noble Park Rangers! They help secure our planets future and help our kids learn about their home.
Have the kids join in by signing up for Junior Rangers, available at most parks nationwide! Junior Ranger Day is a part of National Park Week in April, get in free to all 397 parks and take advantage of special events in these parks. Use nps.gov to help plan your visit to an old favorite or find a new one.
Earth Day!
Earth Day is coming up and Chipper would like to let you know what you can do this year to celebrate this wonderful planet we call home! You can easily be apart of the movement to keep our planet healthy and beautiful by pledging to be green here: http://act.earthday.org/
Earth Day falls on Sunday, April 22 this year so you still have time to plan some fun outdoor activities wherever you are! There are all sorts of events worldwide to show appreciation to our environment many of which are at parks and beaches worldwide. Find some fun events to learn more about all the little things you can do to minimize your footprint and keep our Earth pristine for future generations: http://act.earthday.org/events/search/distance/95005. Or plan your own event! There’s all sorts of little things we can all do to help while having fun and learning: Plant a garden with friends and family at home or school or clean up a local park or beach and have a picnic break!
Art Projects For Kids: Earth Day 2012 Selection (click picture to see website)
Here are a few easy things you can do to start being Green TODAY:
- Bike to Work! Saves gas money, lowers pollution, AND it’s a great work out.
- Start buying eco-friendly light bulbs to save energy AND money! Also, you get a home energy audit to see how else you can save.
- Eliminate your usage of pesticides and toxic cleaning supplies. There are plenty of natural alternative out there!
- Call or write your local legislator about going green and circulate some petitions to lower coal usage and other non-renewable resources.
Have more ideas of your own? Please share them with us! And have a wonderful Earth Day!!!
Get Ready for the Let’s Go Chipper! Into the Great Outdoors Tour
Chipper’s got big plans for helping families connect with nature this summer. But the fun starts now!
The Let’s Go Chipper! Into the Great Outdoors tour kicks off April 1st – no fooling and we have big plans for Earth Day (April 22). It’s our get-ready for summer program but every day is an opportunity to connect and experience the great outdoors. Each month will be packed with get-ready fun dedicated to one of three themes: the planet, our parks and the people who dedicate their lives to preserving them.
The Chipper Team will be leading events in local communities, state, and national parks, and retail locations to help families gear up and get ready for explorations in nature. There will be story times, guided hikes and nature-based activities taking place in several U.S. cities. If you have an event, please share it with us on Facebook and we’ll include in our weekly newsletters.
But don’t worry if you can’t make it to a Chipper event in person. Several Chipper Ambassadors will help create a virtual path to the great outdoors by sharing their own ideas and activities for getting outside and connecting their families with nature.
We’d love to have you join the fun! Become a Chipper Ambassador, attend a Chipper event, or follow the virtual path that Chipper and his Ambassadors are paving to get families into nature on Facebook and Twitter.
Then let us know what you’re up to! Send your tips, ideas and photos to connect@letsgochipper.com to help encourage others to go explore the outdoors, too.
This week we welcome Debi Huang of Go Explore Nature, a wonderful blog that will offer you great ideas to try at home.
Hope to see you outside!
It’s Time to Wonder
If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in. Rachel Carlson
The Chipper Ambassador team lived this quote today, celebrating the changing of the clocks and the wink of spring when the sunshine finally peeked through the clouds in the early evening; the day was still upon us though at this time, the day before, it was dark.
The morning started with a story time and activities at REI in Fremont, California – an hour drive past mountains blanketed in shades of green and dotted with wild flowers. Like clockwork, the doors opened and children from birth to ten skipped in ready to play with Chipper, read, sing, and make crafts.
Many times, parents are secure enough to let their children engage with us while sipping coffee and enjoying conversations with friends or new acquaintances. But today, parents knelt, side-by-side, with their children, guiding and enjoying the time. There was no “hurry up” or “let me help you” …it was just joy and “great job.” And there were no tears.
Engaging in a child-like way: with wonder, excitement, curiosity, occasional frustration, and elation brings joy. It brings connection in an open-hearted way. It brings understanding. With stories about nature read, and crafts made from recycled items found around the house, we waved goodbye to over twenty children knowing they were welcoming a new day hand-in-hand with parents ready to explore.
The Parks are Free For Exploring
There are many state and local parks accessible – even within walking distance that you might not even know about. Sitting down with your children to explore your own local maps and destinations is a wonderful opportunity to talk about how our land is preserved and the wonderful ways you can engage with it.
Simple ideas like
• Unfolding a map - not via the computer but the experience of touching the paper and running your fingers along the places you can visit – is a tactile experience for a child.
• Holding the map and playing a game of “discovery” by calling out places then helping your child search for them on the paper (prompt by referencing colors, what the illustration is, etc.)
• Letting your child take the lead when walking a trail and asking questions – welcome all answers because a child’s imagination will come up with wonderful explanations at this age
These are simple ways to empower your child’s learning process; while you will also help them naturally exercise curiosity, leadership, critical thinking, and relationship management …all through play. For children under six these experiences are vital for social and emotional growth and starting within the home is a positive first step for everyone.
To learn more about our state and local parks visit http://www.nps.gov and http://www.npca.org.
Chipper Tips for Happy Holidays
Daylight savings is here which means the holidays are just around the corner and so is the stress of planning activities with friends, keeping kids entertained or “mindful” at gatherings, and managing expenses.
Chipper has a few quick tips as you approach the holidays: playful yet disciplined to help create boundaries for yourself and those around you.
1. It’s not “No” it’s “not Now” – Don’t give in to yourself or child as it pertains to food, activities, or purchases but help set up a goal-oriented mindset. Establish the goal, write it down, work for it, and then reward. It becomes a game and everyone can celebrate the win – be it a sweet, ski outing, or outfit/toy. Do this together with your child so they understand there are things that you want and need to work for as well.
2. I’m Chipper for_ -we all say “I’m thankful” at Thanksgiving but adopt this phrase and fill in the blank everyday with yourself or child. Research shows by focusing on what makes you happy you can improve your physical and mental health. The Mayo Clinic offers extensive research on the matter – but just try it for yourself. Identify something immediately in front of you to be happy about – I’m Chipper for skipping, bumping into a friend, the penny I found, or the sunshine coming through the clouds. You can change your mindset and the effect is longer-lasting.
3. Being prepared – How many times have you said “you wish you would have been better prepared”? Adopt this exercise – get what you need done out of your head, off of your Blackberry, and on to a pad that sits right with your keys or someplace accessible. Is it dry cleaning for you? Snack pack for your child? Whatever it is, just write it down and put it in a place where you can see it immediately. Sound familiar? Maybe something you saw your own parent do when you were a child? It works. Get it out of your head so you can just get it done.
Three tips but one final thought. Simplify. Let go and be okay with everything just the way it is this year. Embrace it actually and feel lucky for where you are right now, and set goals for where you want to be in the New Year. Let’s Go Chipper!
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